Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method.
Description of the Related Art
Ink jet recording apparatuses have advantages namely they can perform high density and high speed recording operations, and a recording method is low in running cost and quiet, and thus they have been commercialized as output apparatuses in various forms. In addition, recently, the ink jet recording apparatuses have been used for not only printing of office documents using plain paper but also printing of high image quality photographic images which is close to the image quality of silver halide photographs. It can be said that reduction in granularity of images by miniaturization of ink droplets, utilization of color materials in a plurality of densities, and so on is a major factor in an improvement of image quality of ink jet recording.
Recently, recording apparatuses are known which perform recording using imparting materials (particular color recording composition) of particular colors (for example, transparence, white, and the like) which do not change a hue of a recording medium when recorded on the recording medium (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-143044). Usage of the particular color which does not change the hue can realize an improvement in color development of a recorded image and an improvement in photograph image quality by imparting glossiness.
A discharge speed of an ink discharged from a nozzle varies depending on a property of each ink and characteristics of a recording element. Variation in the discharge speed of each ink leads to variation in an ink application position and deterioration of image quality. Further, if the discharge speed of each ink is constant without variation, a landing position of each ink color or each nozzle array may vary because of a distance between the nozzle arrays, inclination of the nozzle array, and the like. As a measure for correcting an application position, registration adjustment described below is generally performed which is important control for realizing high definition image recording. In addition, automatic registration adjustment is discussed which corrects the application position based on position information of a pattern read by an optical sensor. However, the above-described particular color imparting material which does not change a hue of a recording medium is difficult to be visually recognized when being imparted on the recording medium, and also it is difficult for the optical sensor to detect. Thus, implementation of the automatic registration adjustment is difficult and a countermeasure is required.
According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-143044, pattern recording using a color recording composition including a coloring material is performed in first, then pattern recording using the particular color recording composition is performed, and a relative position of a recording position of the particular color recording composition with respect to a recording position of the color recording composition is detected. Further, it is described that misalignment of the recording position can be easily detected by easily detecting a change in smoothness or a change in a reflected light amount caused by the change in the smoothness before and after the recording of the particular color recording composition, and a recording unit can be adjusted to eliminate the misalignment of the recording position when the recording position is deviated.
Adjustment items of the application position may include adjustment between forward and return paths and adjustment between colors. The adjustment between forward and return paths is to apply an ink of one color on a recording medium in a forward path and a return path and to perform adjustment based on the applied result. This adjustment uses only one color and can perform adjustment without depending on discharge characteristics of other colors. However, it is necessary for the adjustment between colors to detect patterns of each of a color to be a reference (a reference color) and another color of which an adjustment amount is required to be determined with respect to the reference color so as to recognize a relative relationship of the application positions of the two colors.
A landing position of a colored ink can be detected using a density sensor, and, for example, when the adjustment between colors is performed on colored inks, adjustment can be performed based on a detection result of the density sensor. However, it is difficult to detect a pattern of the above-described imparting material such as transparent or white one by the density sensor. In the case of the imparting material of which density is difficult to be detected, the adjustment of the application position can be performed by detecting a pattern in such a manner that specular reflected light of light irradiated on an area including the pattern is measured to detect a difference in the smoothness of the pattern and its peripheral area. It is assumed a case in which the adjustment of the application position is performed between a colored ink and an imparting material which is difficult to be detected by the density sensor as described in the adjustment between colors. In this case, it is not desirable that a pattern of the imparting material which is difficult to be detected by the density sensor is detected based on the smoothness, whereas a pattern of the colored ink is detected based on the density. For example, when a position of one pattern is detected by measuring its density by detection of diffused reflection light, and a position of the other pattern is detected by measuring its smoothness by detection of specular reflected light with respect to the light from a light source, there is a possibility that a detection error is caused due to misalignment of optical axes regarding detection of the diffused reflection light and the specular reflected light. As described above, regarding the imparting materials of different types, it is desirable to match detection methods for detecting respective patterns so as not to cause an error.
Therefore, when the imparting materials of different types are subjected to adjustment of a relative application position and an adjustment target includes the one which is not easy to be detected by the density sensor, it can be thought that a pattern of the adjustment target is detected by the smoothness of each pattern.
However, depending on a type of a colored ink, the smoothness of a pattern surface formed on a recording medium is high and is rarely different from the smoothness of a surface of a glossy recording medium, and it is revealed that it is difficult to detect the pattern with high detection sensitivity based on the difference in the smoothness in some cases.